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Ah'khan
The Ah'kan: The Moon Wolves of Ceraedween The Ah'kan are a group of good aligned Lycanthropes who have been transformed by the power of Ceraedween through the use of the Talisman of Ceraedween. They are for game purpose intended to be "Light Lycan" meaning they are often aligned with light causes. They are played like Lycanthropes but without the contagious bite that sees lycanthropy spread like a plague in the dark lands. The name is one chosen by the Ah'kan to describe the way they look at their condition in life. Most see the change as a gift of their matron - the forest maiden as freedom. In the En'thromii tongue the word Ah'kan translates poorly at best but means "a sense of freedom " or something like "being home after a long journey..free of burdens and at peace and surrounded by family". Those changed by Ceraedween see themselves as finally at peace within themselves as they can run as the wild creature they are at heart. To this end they call themselves the Ah'kan. While not a formal race of people, because they were created by a demigod through divine magic and because of the inclusion of a tiny portion of the Lunar Deities' essence in their creation, they fall under the En'thromii as a sub race of that particular Lore. Closely related due to their divine connection, most pact-born see them as cousins of a sort and welcome them as family. The Moon-Born tend to shun them with the exception of those descended from Ceraedween. The First have been silent on the subject but it has been rumored that they approve as it marks an evolution - a step forward in the offspring of Goddess, that they are finding their way and forging their own paths (in reference to Ceraedween ascending to creating her own people) The original Moon Born are silent on the subject as well with the exception of Marrok who exterminates what he sees as an abomination and affront to the species. The conflict between him and Ceraedween has escalated as a result to a willingness to kill each other over it :: Ceraedween, the Maiden of the Hunt, Matron of all things wild looked down upon the lands and saw that there were those among human and Ilaedrian kind who were unlike the others. They sought the refuge of her realms, to walk the wild places, to dwell within the arms of Unara and to hunt and live as free and wild as they could within the limits of their mortal forms. Curious she looked deep within these beings and saw that something was indeed different. Born to their respective races, they did not seem to fit within the confines of their people; something wild dwelt within or should have had they been born with the soul of the wolf as one of the people. Ceraedween noticed that these beings often found no peace, no sense of belonging, often alone in a society that rejected them for their intangible difference. ::Ceraedween grew fond of these beings for often they were of good heart and cherished much that she herself cherished and in time she grew to see these beings as hers by right of their choice to dwell among the wild places. She grieved that the wildness within each one could not be given form, that they could truly live as they wished. One day she approached her mother and asked for her chosen to be given the gift of the wolf soul, as the first born of her family had been given. The Silver Lady refused explaining that such a thing was no gift for the very being of who they were would be forever changed as it had been with the First Born. Only their absolute devotion to the Goddess had saved those original six from losing themselves to the wildness of the untamed wolf spirit. Each of the First born had taken years...some centuries to achieve peace and balance with the soul bonded to their own. Such a thing was a necessity of the time, not a gift to give the innocent. The revelation of this grieved Ceraedween for she had not known that the chosen of her mother had suffered so. The Silver Lady offered advice to her daughter. "Look to the power my sister Unara has gifted you with, for in your hands lay the answer." :: ::Ceraedween traveled to the places where she found most at peace and could meditate on the subject. The forge of her brother Votolf was one such place. Not wild nor natural, it was a place where the huge man forged his part of the world, bending nature to his will. She did not know why she found it a place of peace for the rhythmic fall of the great hammer on the anvil, the hiss of the steel in the water and the roar of the forge fires fueled by the very heart of Gaia herself was a symphony of noise. It was in the noise of that forge she often found herself seeking her brother's words of quiet wisdom. ::Ceraedween sat on the bench behind her brother, her legs swinging in the manner she had always had since her days as a child. The huge smith stood, back to her as he worked his craft. ::"I do not know what to do, brother. They deserve more then what they have been given. It is like they were born to walk in two worlds as the people walk and yet they are cut off forever from the other world. They are not complete and I would find a way for them to touch that world" spoke Ceraedween. ::"Mother's words ring true" said the huge smith as the hammer he wielded descended like a thunderclap upon the glowing heart of the steel he shaped. "You cannot grant them what our father gave, nor should you for they are long past the time of forging. To make them anew would be wrong. Look not to what is beyond you to grant but at what you can. ::"I do not know what that means, brother. I am a hunter, I protect the wild places. I have no gifts such as Father or you. I cannot create." ::"You say this only because you think like a hunter, sister. You hold sway over all that is wild no matter who or what. You shape and tend the groves in which you find your peace the way I shape and tend the metal i work. You are more than a hunter my sister....make for them the shape that will free them, give to them the body that will house the heart that longs for the wild places you so love. " ::He drew his knife and holding out his hand he stood before Ceraedween and spoke gravely. "Give me your palm sister, I need your blood to complete this forging." ::Ceraedween held out her hand to her brother. Knowing his gentle nature she trusted him above all others and when the knife flashed and parted the flesh of her palm such was the sharpness of his knife that she did not feel the cut. Blood flowed and Votolf replaced his blade while holding a small bowl to catch the blood that fell between her fingers. Turning he placed the bowl upon the anvil and removed a tiny vial of silvery liquid from where it hung around his neck upon a chain of pure mythril. Opening it he let fall a single drop into the blood. ::Over the molten metal of the piece he had been working the massive smith poured the mixture of his sister's blood and liquid moonlight. The liquid crackled and hissed giving off the scent of burning blood and something else that was not of this world. When he had done, the huge smith lifted the piece with tongs to inspect it and turning to Ceraedween, smiled a broad smile. He plunged it into the water trough to the side of the great anvil and the crackle and hiss of steam lessened as the molten metal cooled. ::When the object had cooled, Votolf removed it from the water and handing it to his sister he spoke somber words, "Guard this well, Maiden of the forest, for it possesses the power of Ceraedween. Any who find your favour and whom do as you have done, anoint the talisman with their blood shall be given form of the people. They shall know the freedom of the wilderness and of pack. Though I warn you, sister, for this is as a double edged blade. It comes with a cost...they shall forever walk in two worlds but i fear they will not find the peace in either. Our people will never truly accept them and their own shall shun them. Use this wisely." Category:Ceraedween Category:En'Thromii Category:Races Category:Ah'khan